Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles Reappears at GameStop, Being Sold Used for $90

[Steel Diver]

GameStop says they plan on bringing back more "vintage" titles including Metroid Prime Trilogy.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/35177

Xenoblade Chronicles has reappeared at GameStop and is being sold used for $90.

On August 10 Xenoblade Chronicles, a hard to find title, reappeared in GameStop stores and on their website. When contacted by Joystiq about the matter, GameStop released a statement saying that it is in response to PowerUp members, and that they "were recently able to source a limited number of copies."

According to their statement, the price is based on "current market value," and that "PowerUp Pro members always receive a 10 percent discount and earn PUR points on pre-owned purchases."

GameStop is also going to bring back other rare "vintage" titles stating they they "have sourced several more vintage titles that will be hitting stores in the coming months, including Metroid Prime Trilogy."

[lolmonade]

Blame Nintendo (the source), not Gamestop (the symptom).  Nintendo missed the opportunity, and Gamestop is simply capitalizing on unmet demand. 

[Ian Sane]

Wait, so Gamestop stockpiled Metroid Prime Trilogy as well?  Wow, they would have been holding on to those copies for years!

I honestly seems like at some point Gamestop started setting aside copies of games they figure would be rare.  How else does this stuff just suddenly appear?

[TrueNerd]

I do admire GameStop's shamelessness on this. "Yeah. We're fuckin ya. Whatcha gonna do about it?"

[DanteZX]

No, what they're actually doing is taking brand new reprints of the game; that were sent to them from Game Quest Direct, so that gamestop can dictate the price on how much it can sold for as a used game. If it was a brand new and sealed game, gamestop would have to stick with the retail price of 50 bucks, but with the insane price auctions on the internet for this game, gamestop decided to cash in on this cashcow and peoples stupidity. I mean, they're taking brand new games, and just opening them up and sticking them on the shelves as a used game. Thats utterly highway robbery. I think I need to make a trip to gamestop and see if I can find a copy and just loud mockingly comments about what gamestops doing. ^^

[Oblivion]

No, what they're actually doing is taking brand new reprints of the game; that were sent to them from Game Quest Direct,

Source please. This is the internet, there is no reason to make claims like that without being able to back it up in the same post.

[Soren]

Blame Nintendo (the source), not Gamestop (the symptom).  Nintendo missed the opportunity, and Gamestop is simply capitalizing on unmet demand.

Plenty of blame to go around here. Gamestop doesn't get off free of blame. Saying Xenoblade is "vintage" when it was released in April 2012 is stupid.

[pokepal148]

if you ask me 90$ is an improvement.

[Fiendlord_Timmay]

It's true that Gamestop is just capitalizing on unmet demand, but it's also kind of stupid because it won't expand the current market for Xenoblade at all. People have no incentive to buy it from Gamestop rather than Amazon or Ebay. If they had gone for a price of $60-70, they could still capitalize on the situation but also undercut their competitors by a significant enough margin to draw in extra sales.

Personally, I wish they would lower the price so more people would be willing to play this game. Having just played through it, I can say that it would have absolutely been worth $90 to me, but I never would have paid that much for it, given that I'm a poor college student and need to be frugal with my money. I know there are MANY people in a similar situation or state of mind.

It's such a shame that the best Wii game is so inaccessible to people. More people need to play this game.

[Ian Sane]

What I find interesting about the current demand for this game is that all these people didn't buy it when it came out and was not hard to come by.  This is merely a year later.  How many people within the small time span found out that this game existed and that it was good but was no longer available?  This isn't like EarthBound where no one seemingly knew about its brilliance until years after its release.  If you know that Xenoblade exists did you honestly not know it existed when it came out and also did not know of the limited nature of its release?  It just seems too soon for a new "generation" of fans to have "discovered" this classic.  Did everyone just put off the purchase until it was too late?

Nintendo should totally release a Wii U version of this prior to the release of X to build up demand.  It can be a digital release or literally a Wii game in a Wii U case since will play on the Wii U anyway.  They've got as good of a "hit" that you're going to get out of a Japanese RPG in North America these days.  NOA needs to realize that not every game needs to be a mega-blockbuster.  There is nothing wrong with a game that has strong appeal to a narrow demographic as long as you budget and market it with that in mind.  Atlus and XSeed somehow make a living with nothing but games like these.  10 years from now, the game NOA seemingly had to have their arm twisted to release is going to be the most talked about Wii game with retro game enthusiasts.

[sweetiepiejonus]

Blame Nintendo (the source), not Gamestop (the symptom).  Nintendo missed the opportunity, and Gamestop is simply capitalizing on unmet demand.

Plenty of blame to go around here. Gamestop doesn't get off free of blame. Saying Xenoblade is "vintage" when it was released in April 2012 is stupid.

I don't blame Gamestop at all. Do you not remember what it took just to get Xenoblade released in the states? Nintendo was completely to blame for that. It was also a Gamestop exclusive so it's not like they are getting people stealing from other businesses or getting cheap sale titles.


Also I don't see anywhere that Xenoblade was referred to as vintage. Seems to me that was in reference to the Metroid Prime Trilogy and whatever else they were referring to but I didn't get that Xenoblade was what was being referenced there.

[Fiendlord_Timmay]

Did everyone just put off the purchase until it was too late?

I think that's a major reason. If it weren't for the RFN crew's heaping of praise upon the game, I might have decided to hold off on the game, even though I was well aware of OpRainfall at the time.

Also, while probably not a major contributor, word of mouth might be playing a factor. I know when I go back to school in a week or so, I'm going to evangelize the hell out of this game to anyone who will listen. I guarantee you that NONE of my school friends (despite being fairly knowledgeable gamers) know about OpRainfall or Xenoblade.

Also in "Greatest RPGs of this generation" topics these days, Xenoblade is very frequently mentioned, which could pique the interest of someone who had merely heard of it but previously had no interest.

There are plenty of reasons that a bunch of people would be looking for Xenoblade now. I think assuming that anyone who is interested in the game bought it at launch would be far from the truth.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'm not really a big JRPG fan, but I had some interest after everyone raved about it and watching a friend of mine play a bunch of it. If I'd known it'd get to this point I probably would have paid $50 early on just to have the opportunity. There's still no way in hell I'm paying $90.

[Oblivion]

There's still no way in hell I'm paying $90.

Then I guess you're never gonna play it.

[NWR_insanolord]

Like I said, I'm not really a big JRPG guy. I'm somewhat interested, but not $90 interested. Also, this is Nintendo here, the game will at some point be released on one of their digital download platforms. I'm perfectly fine waiting 5-10 years or whatever to play the game for under $20.

[Ymeegod]

Bleh, you can still buy the European copy for cheap though.  It was an good game but not worth over MSRP IMO.

Got my copy for less than $30.

[Ian Sane]

Like I said, I'm not really a big JRPG guy. I'm somewhat interested, but not $90 interested. Also, this is Nintendo here, the game will at some point be released on one of their digital download platforms. I'm perfectly fine waiting 5-10 years or whatever to play the game for under $20.

EarthBound took 18 years to get re-released.  Would you be okay waiting that long?  Would Xenoblade still interest you when you're middle-aged?

But you likely won't have to wait so long.  It really makes sense to re-release this for the Wii U before X comes out.  Maybe they won't but it's probably worth waiting to see if they do before paying $90.  Though if a re-release doesn't happen at that point then a Wii copy will probably sell for a lot more.  So you to take a calculated risk: pay $90 now and risk a cheaper version coming out in a few years or hope for a cheaper version but risk paying even more if it doesn't come.

[KDR_11k]

Nintendo made an exclusivity deal with Gamestop, didn't they? So GS decided to order a new run of copies and sell them used while nobody else can get another run so GS gets to dictate the prices. Nintendo can't print more because they cannot sell it through another retailer and if GS doesn't want more copies N can't do anything about it.

[UncleBob]

Well, that would all depend on the terms of the deal between Nintendo and GameStop.

I have no doubt that it is a timed agreement.  Who knows how long that agreement is in effect for.

[Oblivion]

Would Xenoblade still interest you when you're middle-aged?

Nice try, you guys already are middle-ages.

[Ian Sane]

Would Xenoblade still interest you when you're middle-aged?

Nice try, you guys already are middle-ages.

Only if I die at 62.  Hey, thinking about it that way actually makes me feel younger!

[pokepal148]

Would Xenoblade still interest you when you're middle-aged?

Nice try, you guys already are middle-ages.

and you are not anyones knight in shining armor

[Soren]

Also I don't see anywhere that Xenoblade was referred to as vintage. Seems to me that was in reference to the Metroid Prime Trilogy and whatever else they were referring to but I didn't get that Xenoblade was what was being referenced there.

"Gamestop regularly receives feedback from our PowerUp members regarding old titles they would like us to bring back, such as vintage games like Xenoblade Chronicles. We were recently able to source a limited number of copies of this title to carry in our stores and online."

[Rubber Band AI]

I bought the game from GameStop today for 90 smackers, so I guess I'm part of the problem?


While I agree it makes GameStop look pretty terrible, I was willing to pay what is now basically the lowest price for the game on the market. Part of the reason I'm okay with it is because I bought it day one, loved it a lot, but had to sell it due to being between jobs. Now I want to finish the bugger. And $90 for a 100+ hour game that I love is not a particularly bad investment, in my eyes.


The massive GameStop gift card I had lying around after trading in my 360 didn't hurt either...

[nickmitch]

Would Xenoblade still interest you when you're middle-aged?

Nice try, you guys already are middle-ages.

and you are not anyones knight in shining armor

That's TJ.